Sify’s Business Plan for Broadband is confusing
October 2nd, 2004 Leave a comment Visited 32 times, 1 so far today
They are one of the biggest IT firms in India. They compete with InfoSys and Wipro and are even listed on Nasdaq. And on the B2C front, they claim to be one of the biggest broadband providers in India. I happen to be one of the unfortunate souls to be stuck with them as my ISP considering there is no alternate present in my area. And looking at the facts that came to my notice today, I am confused about their master plan on being an ISP to the masses!
They have got the term broadband in their brand name, which is SIFY BROADBAND. Broadband is supposed to be net connectivity that enables us to surf online at speeds that let us listen to and watch streaming audio and video comfortably. In technical terms (and TRAI’s recommendation), it is supposed to be equal or greater than 256kbps speeds. But looking at the product pages, it seems pretty clear that Sify does not want the common user (a typical middle class guy who wants to enjoy internet at its full glory) to have broadband. Reason being it costs around Rs. 2.50 per Meg to have broadbandish speeds with Sify! If checking emails or chatting online do justice to broadband speeds than I would have preferred this package. But no, broadband is all about audio and video transmission and well, at 2.5 rupee a Meg… not many can afford it.
So well, broadband is out of the question. Next comes the other data transfer and time bound packages which I do not even want to discuss here. Its not dialup we are talking about. BROADBAND was supposed to be permanent connectivity for god sake. The only reasonable packages left are the shared packages at a cheap (relatively) price of 600-800 bucks. The speeds are theoretically comparable to dialup but they are at least UNLIMITED! So, I can use these packages for downloading lots of stuff while I am sleeping!
Oops. I am wrong again. Sify has this hidden (or is it missed out) clause which says that there is no speed guarantee on shared packages. So, even though the package says 32kbps+ or 48kbps+, it can give you speeds in bytes and Sify won’t take it as a problem. Another funny hidden feature (??) is that if you exceed 75 megs in a day, the speed is automatically reduced to worse levels (yeah, 32 is not the worst they have on their broadband scales). So, you are not going to get even the labeled speeds on the shared packages…
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October 2nd, 2004 at 02:12 am
Very nice and a well put blog!
I cannot say different then that i totally agree with it.
Some nice text for Sify to read , and not just a puppet but some higher ranked dude over there
October 1st, 2004 at 03:42 pm
Very nice and a well put blog!
I cannot say different then that i totally agree with it.
Some nice text for Sify to read , and not just a puppet but some higher ranked dude over there
October 2nd, 2004 at 02:13 am
OMG, you are fast!
October 1st, 2004 at 03:43 pm
OMG, you are fast!
October 2nd, 2004 at 02:26 am
i accidently looked at the right moment when u just posted this
Anyway…
The internet nowadays is differnet then it was 4 years ago, movies came music came, the overal filesizes increased , there are tons of options/programs for videoconference, audio and so on.
Internet got massive and to taste the best of internet u just need a fast(er) connection.
I cannot play online multiplayer – games with sify, i cannot use the webcam for having a nice converstaion with family abroad, even audio does not work.
For this you need a broadband connection… and the stange thing is, i have Sify broadband…
Sify can say: yes, there are many differnet packages, just pay more money
But then… its a ver normal thing to point your finger to the pricelist and say: look , i have a broadband connection, right?
They call it broadband!
And if u count all these extra things to it, the icon,the limitation even on shared packages and so on…It is really too sad for words…
October 1st, 2004 at 03:56 pm
i accidently looked at the right moment when u just posted this
Anyway…
The internet nowadays is differnet then it was 4 years ago, movies came music came, the overal filesizes increased , there are tons of options/programs for videoconference, audio and so on.
Internet got massive and to taste the best of internet u just need a fast(er) connection.
I cannot play online multiplayer – games with sify, i cannot use the webcam for having a nice converstaion with family abroad, even audio does not work.
For this you need a broadband connection… and the stange thing is, i have Sify broadband…
Sify can say: yes, there are many differnet packages, just pay more money
But then… its a ver normal thing to point your finger to the pricelist and say: look , i have a broadband connection, right?
They call it broadband!
And if u count all these extra things to it, the icon,the limitation even on shared packages and so on…It is really too sad for words…
October 2nd, 2004 at 03:17 pm
I have experienced severe downtime for the past 7 days and nothing seems to have been done about this. The local CTO, ICC, is extremely non responsive and un professional to deal with. One cannot get through to their phones most of the time. A Mr. Susheel (Cell: 98909.18148) from the local Sify office has been extremely unprofessional and unhelpful as well. He has consistently refused to return calls, update me or help in anyway possible.
I bought this package as I was told that there would be minimum downtime. But the converse seems to be true here. As it is a pre-paid service there should be greater focus on customer service. If I do not get the service I have already paid good money for, then that is something which is generally known as a con job.
It seems that the brand equity of Sify is suffering greatly because of lack of customer focus and service to support this service and you need only to go to sites like http://sifybroadband.techwhack.com/category/general-thoughts/ to see what the response to the service has been. After my experience with Sify how do think I would describe the service to potential subscribers?
October 2nd, 2004 at 04:47 am
I have experienced severe downtime for the past 7 days and nothing seems to have been done about this. The local CTO, ICC, is extremely non responsive and un professional to deal with. One cannot get through to their phones most of the time. A Mr. Susheel (Cell: 98909.18148) from the local Sify office has been extremely unprofessional and unhelpful as well. He has consistently refused to return calls, update me or help in anyway possible.
I bought this package as I was told that there would be minimum downtime. But the converse seems to be true here. As it is a pre-paid service there should be greater focus on customer service. If I do not get the service I have already paid good money for, then that is something which is generally known as a con job.
It seems that the brand equity of Sify is suffering greatly because of lack of customer focus and service to support this service and you need only to go to sites like http://sifybroadband.techwhack.com/category/gen... to see what the response to the service has been. After my experience with Sify how do think I would describe the service to potential subscribers?
October 2nd, 2004 at 06:47 pm
Sify Provides a much better service till the CTO end (Cable operator end)… It depends a lot on the cable operator who is actually a dealer of them how he distributes through his network…Sify can possibly appoint a better cable operator in that area which suffers from poor quality…But as such Sify has much better service levels & customer care compared to dishnet, touchtel and VSNL…atleast in my area.
October 2nd, 2004 at 08:17 am
Sify Provides a much better service till the CTO end (Cable operator end)… It depends a lot on the cable operator who is actually a dealer of them how he distributes through his network…Sify can possibly appoint a better cable operator in that area which suffers from poor quality…But as such Sify has much better service levels & customer care compared to dishnet, touchtel and VSNL…atleast in my area.
October 2nd, 2004 at 07:00 pm
As I mentioned in my post, my current problems is all related to Sify’s own marketing stretegy. I got the CTO issues fixed up sometime back.Took me 5 months… But now, I am all free from any connection with the fcuking CTO.
October 2nd, 2004 at 08:30 am
As I mentioned in my post, my current problems is all related to Sify’s own marketing stretegy. I got the CTO issues fixed up sometime back.Took me 5 months… But now, I am all free from any connection with the fcuking CTO.
October 2nd, 2004 at 08:40 pm
I am living in Vagator, Anjuna in North Goa. Sify has just tied up with the local CTO Sagar Vision to rip off the entire area. They are currently jointly(CTO Mr. Sagar Govekar mob.no 9822388808 and Sify rep. Mr. Edwin Furtado mob.no 9822107477) marketing their service to cybercafe owners which is as follows. Rs. 4000/- installation charges per computer. That means if you have a cafe of 8 PC’s ……Alelluia!!! thats Rs. 32000/-. All this money is to be paid to the CTO in advance!!!!!! Thats not all. They are forcing the cybercafe owners to buy individual User Packs per PC and not allowing you to share a single pack on a network. All this has to be paid for in advance too. They insist upon a single IP address per PC with separate login usernames and passwords. As is evident with this business, technology changes all the time. Different, cheaper options will be available in the future. Other service providers will also enter the field. But if you pay such a high installation charge to your Sify CTO today, you cannot change over to somebody else in the future. This is because his installation charges are non-refundable. The most alarming aspect of this arrangement is that by forcing you to take a separate internet pack for each PC and allotting individual IP addresses, Sify is able to calculate exactly how much you earn, because they are electronically tracking each and every PC on their network. This information can be used against the users at any time in the future, for hiking up tariffs, or for gauging business potential in the area, or to monopolize the business.
Somebody please tell me I am wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 2nd, 2004 at 10:10 am
I am living in Vagator, Anjuna in North Goa. Sify has just tied up with the local CTO Sagar Vision to rip off the entire area. They are currently jointly(CTO Mr. Sagar Govekar mob.no 9822388808 and Sify rep. Mr. Edwin Furtado mob.no 9822107477) marketing their service to cybercafe owners which is as follows. Rs. 4000/- installation charges per computer. That means if you have a cafe of 8 PC’s ……Alelluia!!! thats Rs. 32000/-. All this money is to be paid to the CTO in advance!!!!!! Thats not all. They are forcing the cybercafe owners to buy individual User Packs per PC and not allowing you to share a single pack on a network. All this has to be paid for in advance too. They insist upon a single IP address per PC with separate login usernames and passwords. As is evident with this business, technology changes all the time. Different, cheaper options will be available in the future. Other service providers will also enter the field. But if you pay such a high installation charge to your Sify CTO today, you cannot change over to somebody else in the future. This is because his installation charges are non-refundable. The most alarming aspect of this arrangement is that by forcing you to take a separate internet pack for each PC and allotting individual IP addresses, Sify is able to calculate exactly how much you earn, because they are electronically tracking each and every PC on their network. This information can be used against the users at any time in the future, for hiking up tariffs, or for gauging business potential in the area, or to monopolize the business.
Somebody please tell me I am wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 2nd, 2004 at 10:16 pm
No you do not seem to be wrong. 99% of the people out their do believe that Sify sure have weird ways of doing business.
October 2nd, 2004 at 11:46 am
No you do not seem to be wrong. 99% of the people out their do believe that Sify sure have weird ways of doing business.
December 5th, 2004 at 07:51 am
This is a rejoinder to post no. 7 as listed above. It has been 2 months now since the majority of cafe owners have held out against the monopoly of Sify and its cohorts, in this case the CTO Sagar Govekar of Sagar Vision, Vagator, Goa. We are now eagerly awaiting BSNL’s much publicised 256K broad band connection. Or atleast some other rival. After much discussion and prolonged acrimony, the CTO decided to grant a “discount”, for cafe owners with more than 5 PC’s. But discount? my a*se!!! The new deal is as follows. It really takes the cake. Even if you desire a single connection, you have to pay for 5. That too @ Rs. 4000/- per connection. So you pay 20,000 bucks for from 1 to 5 connections, with compulsory 5 IP addresses or service packs, even if you have just 1 PC. Also there is a compulsory clause that you have to keep at least 5 IP addresses “live” for a minimum of 6 months of the year. In addition you have to pay a “mantenance fee” of Rs. 200/- per month to the CTO which is for “cable mantenance”. Smart clause. So if someone damages or cuts the CTO’s cable, the users bear the loss alongwith him. After the 5 Pc’s @ 4000 bucks each, any additional PC upto 9 PC’s is discounted by 500 bucks per PC, so you pay Rs. 3500 per PC for PC’s 6 to 9. Brilliant, isn’t it. Shushubh, is there anyway we can sue the CTO or Sify for wrongful or malicious trade practice?
December 5th, 2004 at 07:21 pm
This is a rejoinder to post no. 7 as listed above. It has been 2 months now since the majority of cafe owners have held out against the monopoly of Sify and its cohorts, in this case the CTO Sagar Govekar of Sagar Vision, Vagator, Goa. We are now eagerly awaiting BSNL’s much publicised 256K broad band connection. Or atleast some other rival. After much discussion and prolonged acrimony, the CTO decided to grant a “discount”, for cafe owners with more than 5 PC’s. But discount? my a*se!!! The new deal is as follows. It really takes the cake. Even if you desire a single connection, you have to pay for 5. That too @ Rs. 4000/- per connection. So you pay 20,000 bucks for from 1 to 5 connections, with compulsory 5 IP addresses or service packs, even if you have just 1 PC. Also there is a compulsory clause that you have to keep at least 5 IP addresses “live” for a minimum of 6 months of the year. In addition you have to pay a “mantenance fee” of Rs. 200/- per month to the CTO which is for “cable mantenance”. Smart clause. So if someone damages or cuts the CTO’s cable, the users bear the loss alongwith him. After the 5 Pc’s @ 4000 bucks each, any additional PC upto 9 PC’s is discounted by 500 bucks per PC, so you pay Rs. 3500 per PC for PC’s 6 to 9. Brilliant, isn’t it. Shushubh, is there anyway we can sue the CTO or Sify for wrongful or malicious trade practice?
February 10th, 2005 at 07:28 am
Iam having a very bad experience with sify broadband. i have 96kbps unlimited package. but but but ….. you need to reconnect every 15 mts … why the hell they call it as broadband then …. dont they have minimum common sense on how customers use broadband then …. I use broadband to work from home. I end up having several sessions database, unix client, downloads, ….. if Iam not infront of computer to relogin, then all my sessions are lost …. by the time i relogin, recreate those sessions, that’ll be 10 mts ……. I dont know why are they torturing people like this. Iam thinking of going to BSNL. iam scared about their service too, but iam not aware of their quality of service. if anybody has any kind of comparison done with the indian broadband services, pls email me at venkrishn@yahoo.com
the other issue with sify is with the cable operators. i have a downtime of average 1.5 days per week. the cable operators are so unprofessional, arrogant, unresponsive.
fyi- iam from bangalore
shame shame shame on sify
February 10th, 2005 at 01:28 pm
Iam having a very bad experience with sify broadband. i have 96kbps unlimited package. but but but ….. you need to reconnect every 15 mts … why the hell they call it as broadband then …. dont they have minimum common sense on how customers use broadband then …. I use broadband to work from home. I end up having several sessions database, unix client, downloads, ….. if Iam not infront of computer to relogin, then all my sessions are lost …. by the time i relogin, recreate those sessions, that’ll be 10 mts ……. I dont know why are they torturing people like this. Iam thinking of going to BSNL. iam scared about their service too, but iam not aware of their quality of service. if anybody has any kind of comparison done with the indian broadband services, pls email me at venkrishn@yahoo.com
the other issue with sify is with the cable operators. i have a downtime of average 1.5 days per week. the cable operators are so unprofessional, arrogant, unresponsive.
fyi- iam from bangalore
shame shame shame on sify
March 21st, 2005 at 06:04 am
sum jobs in sify broad band
March 21st, 2005 at 05:34 pm
sum jobs in sify broad band
September 13th, 2005 at 07:42 pm
Hello ,
I want to start business of cyber cafe please help me what it is the requirement & What it cos if i want to open with 10 PC in A shop .what is the estimated finance required for it what the technical requirement & which is the best internet service provider with good speed & with reasonable rate.
Thank you .
Ankit Jethva
September 13th, 2005 at 09:12 am
Hello ,
I want to start business of cyber cafe please help me what it is the requirement & What it cos if i want to open with 10 PC in A shop .what is the estimated finance required for it what the technical requirement & which is the best internet service provider with good speed & with reasonable rate.
Thank you .
Ankit Jethva